Hurricane Rita grew into a monster storm with 170-mph sustained winds as it swirled toward the Gulf Coast, prompting a national emergency declaration as more than 1.3 million residents in Texas and Louisiana fled in hopes of avoiding a deadly repeat of Katrina. The Bush administration has declared Hurricane Rita a national emergency days before its expected landfall in Texas as federal authorities brace the already-battered Gulf Coast with aid ahead of the surging Category 5 storm.